1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a music reproducing method and apparatus which mixes voices input from a microphone and music data, and more particularly to a music reproducing method and apparatus in which various information is displayed which represents that a musical performance is in a prelude prior to singing portions or has entered an interlude between singing portions or a postlude after termination of the singing portions.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A known method for recording music data is a digital recording method using a Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) system or the like. This digital recording method has been applied to a compact disk (CD) or the like. One application of the recording method is in an apparatus for singing to the accompaniment of a reproduced sound, i.e., a karaoke apparatus. In the karaoke apparatus, words to be sung for accompaniment by generated music are displayed on a screen, and the words are changed in such a manner that the displayed words correspond to progression of the generated music.
When using a disk employing the PCM system or the like, the amount of information of both image data and voice data is greatly increased. Therefore, a plurality of disks can be prepared when a user wants to sing many songs.
Meanwhile, when it is desired to display the words on the screen, because of the dimension of the screen and the size of the characters, it is often difficult to entirely display the words on the screen at one time. Since only parts of the words can normally be displayed on the screen, a singer cannot easily recognize the location at which a song being sung by the singer terminates.
Thus, the singer cannot determine whether or not the song is terminated until long after chorus phrases have been sung. When the singer is singing a song on a stage or the like, the singer often prematurely replaces the microphone and is seated before the song is completed.
A piece of music to be sung with the karaoke apparatus has a plurality of choruses. Thus, undesirable conditions are likely to occur as a result of premature termination of the song. Accordingly, a so-called interlude is sometimes inserted between adjacent choruses. This, however, causes the singers to waste time since a singing voice is discontinued for a certain time interval, and no words are displayed on the display screen.
Further, discussions often arise between persons other than the singer when the time interval is lengthy. Such persons discontinue viewing the display screen and cease listening to the song subsequent to two choruses.